The present invention relates to a fluid system, and particularly to a self-synchronizing hydraulic system.
Hydraulic systems with pressurized flow to multiple cylinders have traditionally provided important solutions to a variety of applications. As one example, the steering systems for a variety of vehicles have traditionally often involved a hydraulic system wherein the extension and retraction of a hydraulic cylinder drives the steering of the vehicle's wheels or other components involved in steering. In such a system, in the case of a single-rod cylinder, pressurized flow is supplied alternately to the base end or the rod end of a cylinder, causing the cylinder's piston to extend or retract, thereby controlling the steering component. Similarly, in the case of a double-rod cylinder, pressurized flow is supplied alternately to the first end or the second end of a cylinder, causing the cylinder's piston to extend one way or extend the other way, thereby controlling the steering component.
For example, some systems include multiple cylinders that are operated together, but with independent control of individual cylinders, such as through a selector valve. In such a system, there has traditionally been an undesirable effect in which the cylinders become unsynchronized, wherein the extension or retraction position of one cylinder's piston is offset from the position of another cylinder's piston. One way in which this undesirable effect has traditionally been addressed is by providing the steering selector valve with multiple steering modes and the cylinders with position sensors, allowing an operator to refer to the position sensors to synchronize the cylinders manually by redirecting flow to the appropriate side. However, there has been an unmet need in some applications for an alternative to this traditional solution.